If you live in the Greater Toronto Area, you know that condos are all the rage. It seems like a new complex pops up every day. Well, the same is true for major cities across Canada.

While many of us know to be suspicious when renting or purchasing older homes, we sometimes let our guard down for new places. Former grow-ops and/or toxic mold are fairly common in older buildings and we often think to bring in mold inspection teams before making decisions. But too many Canadians assume that new buildings are immune to moisture, water damage and mold.

A recent CBS study used the Bella Vista Condominiums in Calgary as a prime example of the “new home invincibility” trap. After purchasing Bella Vista units, new condo owners discovered damage to the roof, eaves, balcony and parkade. They have to pay anywhere between $77,000 and $189,000 each to repair the moist, damaged areas, which foster the growth of toxic mold. The catch: the building was only nine years old.

Prospective homeowners can follow a few different tips to ensure they aren’t saddled with damaged housing and toxic mold upon moving to a new condo. The first is to hire a mold inspection company to check not only for mold, but for damage or moist conditions that could soon foster mold growth.

The second option, as suggested in the CBC study: talk to existing owners. Maybe the person selling you a particular condo won’t be honest about the conditions – but his or her neighbours might be. See if you can get some information about the conditions – especially the “envelope” of homes, which includes roofs and siding.

Our recommendation: do both. When you’re making a major life decision like buying a home, you can never be too careful or diligent with things like mold testing.

MoldInspections.ca is the trusted leader for mold-free buildings, condominiums, homes and breathable indoor air spaces in Toronto, the Greater Toronto Area (GTA), and beyond. Providing certified mold inspection, detection and testing since 2005, we service home owners, real-estate agents, landlords, property managers, insurance companies and businesses. Featured on CTV and Global TV and recommended by contractors, we regularly serve as expert witnesses in court proceeding relating to Mold and Indoor Air Quality issues. Do you have mold? Call us today for a free quote at (416) 575-6111.

Toxic mold is becoming a Canada-wide epidemic, particularly in schools, and Prince Edward Island is the latest province to be hit hard.

Recent mold inspections found mold and moisture at 15 different P.E.I. schools. Three of the schools have major problems. Overall, the provincial government will commit $17.4 million in repairs to eliminate the mold.

Education Minister Doug Currie first ordered the province-wide mold inspection after toxic mold was discovered at Elm Street Elementary School. After the mold detection process, it appears no school is more afflicted than Spring Park Elementary School. The moisture and mold growth are so bad that the school has to be totally replaced at the cost of $11.5 million.

“In the case of Spring Park, the building is simply beyond repair,” Currie explained. “A mere renovation would represent nothing more than a Band-Aid solution.”

The case of P.E.I.’s schools is an important reminder to other Canadian regions such as the Greater Toronto Area. If left undetected, mold can take over important buildings like schools. It’s a major cause of youth respiratory problems such as asthma.

Whether you’re a school employee or not, consider talking to your local principal about the possibility of mold testing. The cost of repairs will greatly decrease if it’s detected soon enough. Even if mold hasn’t grown yet, a mold testing company may find moist conditions (say, in a basement) that will foster mold growth if not treated soon enough.

Think of Canadian youth. Follow the example set by P.E.I and get toxic mold out of our schools!

MoldInspections.ca is the trusted leader for mold-free homes and breathable indoor air spaces in Toronto, the Greater Toronto Area (GTA), and beyond. Providing certified mold inspection, detection and testing since 2005, we service home owners, real-estate agents, landlords, property managers, insurance companies and businesses. Featured on CTV and recommended by contractors, we regularly serve as expert witnesses in court proceeding relating to Mold and Indoor Air Quality issues. Do you have mold? Call us today for a free quote at (416) 575-6111.

While it’s a good thing that more and more citizens in the GTA and Canada are becoming aware of mold risks and seeking out mold inspection companies, the mold industry remains unregulated and unlicensed.

To get safe and lasting mold removal, you need to find a certified mold inspector with a distinction such as Council-Certified Microbial Inspector. If you don’t find a company with the proper qualifications, you could be a scam victim.

What are some scams to watch for? Here are 10 common mold scams in the Greater Toronto Area, in random order.

1. The door-to-door air quality test scam

If a salesman tries to sell you an expensive air filter and wants to win you over with a Petri dish test, slam your front door shut. In this scam, a salesperson will leave a Petri dish in your home for a set amount of time, and then show you how much mold has accumulated in it. What he or she doesn’t tell you is that the mold accumulates naturally in a Petri dish anywhere, inside or outside, at your house or someone else’s. It doesn’t prove anything about mold in your home or workplace.

2. The moldy home scam

Some home or business owners will sweep their dirt – or, in this case, mold – under the rug. They’ll cover it or paint over it before selling you the property. Make sure you give a place a proper mold test before committing to any purchase.

3. The house sabotage scam

In this nasty scam, a mold inspector will sabotage your building to foster mold growth, closing windows, running humidifiers, cranking hot showers and doing anything that creates moisture. Keep an eye on the inspector if he doesn’t leave everything in your building exactly the way it was!

4. The fake mold test scam

Faking a mold test is a simple but effective scam. Take the results from a positive test, forge the location, and tell the building owner that the test is theirs. For this reason, it’s important to have a mold inspection company show you the problem rather than just hand you a piece of paper detailing the results.

5. The Improper mold removal scam

Some companies will take your money and not do the job right. Without proper training, they may not use gloves or masks, HEPA filters, containment plastic or fungicide. Doing the job wrong can stir up the spores and leave your home worse off than it was before.

6. The bleach scam

Bleaching mold changes its appearance and can make it appear “gone.” However, the bleach is a temporary killer at best. If the moist conditions remain, the mold will return. Don’t trust any Toronto mold removal company championing bleach as their main tool.

7. The particle counting scam

Particle counting tools can in fact detect mold spores – but they also detect countless other airborne particles, like pet dander or pollen. Particle counting tests are thus inaccurate, as too many other variables might be included in the results.

8. The ozone generator scam

Some mold removal “experts” will release massive amounts of ozone gas into a building to eliminate mold. However, it only kills the exposed mold; it can’t penetrate drywall or tiles or any other surface under which mold hides. Ozone is also a harmful gas that damages any plastic or rubber material it contacts. It could destroy your home and your health without even fully eliminating your mold.

As temperatures in the Greater Toronto Area rise significantly over the coming weeks, allergy sufferers everywhere start to shake in their boots. The eyes start to water. The nose starts to run. The skin starts to itch. A summer of misery often ensues.

In most cases, pollen is the main culprit. It can be fine or a very course powder, released by trees, plants, grass and weeds. Winds can whip pollen up, get it airborne and travel great distances.

So why is it that we sometimes feel allergy symptoms after major storms? Isn’t the rain supposed to wash the pollen away?

The reason: pollen has an accomplis, a hazardous material that produces many allergy-like symptoms when inhaled. The partner in crime is toxic mould.

When discussing mold inspections on this blog before, we’ve highlighted the symptoms of inhaling toxic mold. Most commonly, the problems are lung-related; asthma and various respiratory infections are commonly caused by mold.

Unfortunately, there’s a dangerous overlap between hay fever symptoms and mold, including coughing and wheezing. If you’re a regular hay fever sufferer being exposed to mold, you’ll feel like you never get a break from your symptoms, even during a rainstorm.

But the problem is more serious than that. During allergy season, hay fever masks the more damaging long-term effects of mold exposure. You may think you’re simply breathing in pollen and that you’ll get relief when the cold weather arrives, but you may instead be inhaling toxic mold unknowingly all summer.

Since so many of us suffer from hay fever, it’s good advice for everyone to undergo a mold detection at the start of the summer. That way, when you’re grumbling over your sneezing and itching, you’ll take comfort in knowing your problem is temporary instead of toxic!

MoldInspections.ca is the trusted leader for mold-free homes and breathable indoor air spaces in Toronto, the Greater Toronto Area (GTA), and beyond. Providing certified mold inspection, detection and testing since 2005, we service home owners, real-estate agents, landlords, property managers, insurance companies and businesses. Featured on CTV and Global TV and recommended by contractors, we regularly serve as expert witnesses in court proceedings relating to Mold and Indoor Air Quality issues. Do you have mold? Call us today for a free quote at (416) 575-6111.

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An alarming study, discussed in the Montreal Gazette, highlights how real of a threat toxic mold is to inhabitants of major Canadian cities.

More specifically, Montreal’s children are being affected. A public health study revealed that 1 in 4 Montreal kids suffer from lung disease. The main culprit: excessive moisture and the mold caused by it.

Here we see a direct quantification of the consequences of not undergoing proper mold testing. It’s not just that the threat is being ignored; it’s that the conditions of housing in Montreal are facilitating its growth.

Far too many homes lack regular maintenance; their commonly flat roof construction takes on too much water and the humid, moist conditions lead to mold growth. Of the Montreal children aged 6 months to 12 years, roughly a third of them live in homes with excessive humidity and mold. Lois Jacques, health department physician and principal investigator, cites mold as the top risk factor for respiratory illness.

According to researchers, mold is responsible for 26 per cent of respiratory infections, 17 per cent of asthma and 14 per cent of allergic rhinitis.

So how does Montreal – and any other major municipality suffering from a mold epidemic – address the problem? The long-term solution is for the government to put more money into improving affordable housing so that it doesn’t take on moisture. By doing so, mold can’t grow in the first place.

The shorter-term and perhaps more feasible solution is to commission a mold removal company to eliminate the problems from these homes. After that, especially in the case of poorly maintained buildings, regular mold inspection is a good idea.

Doing so isn’t an unnecessary frill or luxury. It’s ensuring our children are healthier. There are few things in this world more important than our youth!

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